Wednesday, August 29, 2012

First and foremost, The Gifting,
which is the beginning of the Gathandrian Trilogy, is a novel about journeys.
My main character, Simon, sets out on a vast physical journey to another
country, and must also make a journey into his own mind in order to uncover the
skills which lie there.

When I was working out the nature of the journey, I therefore wanted it
to be a spiritual as well as a physical one. So I took the four elements of
Earth, Air, Fire and Water and made them into magical lands which Simon and his
companions must cross in order to reach their destination. I wanted the
interplay between what these different elements symbolise in Simon’s
development, and the practical hard graft of how the group must traverse them.
And, of course, what they discover at the end of their long trek.

All well and good, but the very strange thing about all this is how much
I myself hate journeys! When young, my poor mother used to give me the
strongest travel pills whenever we travelled up north to see my grandmother who
lived 300 miles away. Whatever she tried, I was always sick and held everything
up. Which, as the family always tried to do the journey in a day meant some
pretty late evening arrivals in Newcastle.

These days, I don’t get quite as travel-sick in a car, though
occasionally it does kick in again if I’m hungry and particularly if the car or
coach is a very plush one. In terms of my stomach, the ricketier the transport,
the better I like it, it seems.

However, I’m still not that great in aeroplanes or on a boat. Yes, I do
have to admit that once, when my husband and I were flying back from a holiday
in Slovenia, I was that person on the plane who – when we went through a bad
storm – said: “We’re going to die! We’re
going to die, aren’t we?” Oh the shame. Thankfully all the other passengers
on the plane apart from us were Slovenian schoolchildren who had no idea what I
was saying. They all thought it was great fun … I think my husband still has
the bruises on his arm where I was holding on to him. Well, I never said I was
brave.

I’m also not too good on boats either. The ocean fills me with horror
and I still have dark memories of the four hours I spent on a ferry between
England and France in the middle of the night during yet another storm when the
boat couldn’t actually move due to the roughness of the sea. Believe me,
seasickness is not to be recommended under any circumstances, though I did make
a lot of new friends in the ladies’ loos where we all – in a very English
fashion – politely took it in turns to be sick in the available cubicles.

This is probably the reason why Simon’s not a good traveller in the air
or at sea either. Here he is during his voyage with his companion Johan:

When the sun is high
in the sky, the scribe finally awakes with a groan. “Johan?”

“Yes, I’m here.” He
places himself where Simon can see him, be reassured—if indeed he has any
reassurance to offer. “We’re here. On the boat. It’s the middle of the
morning.”

As he speaks, the
scribe pushes himself upright, and his face turns pale. The boat sways with his
motion. “No more desert men?”

But Simon isn’t
listening. He barely makes it to the side before he is vomiting, shaking and
soaked with sweat, into the sea. Johan rests his arm across his shoulders, and
holds him as he retches again.

When the bout has
finished, Simon gags twice more and then groans.

“Lie down, you’ll
feel better if you do.” Johan half-carries the sick man to the bottom of the
boat again where, still shivering slightly, he lies curled like a question mark
between the two benches.

“What is this?”

“Hush. Don’t speak.
It’s sea-malady. You’re not used to the movement of the water. Here, I have
something that might help.”

“Good,” Simon
murmurs. “That would be nice.”

Johan searches in
the herb bag for what he wants, and then places two dried leaves in the palm of
Simon’s hand. He senses the man’s surprise when he tastes them: ginger, but
with a sharper tone.

“That’s right,” he
says. “It’s a type of ginger that grows in the parks and gardens of our city.
It will ease your stomach and cleanse your mouth.”

Simon nods but says
no more. For a while, he continues to lie prostrate in the boat, his eyes
closed. Johan listens to the screeches of birds, breathes in the salt smell of
the water and welcomes the warmth of the sun on his face.

“How is your head?”
the scribe asks after a while. He sounds stronger now.

“It hurts a little.
But it will pass. Your sickness?”

“The leaves you
gave me are working, I think. Tell me, is it always like this on the sea? And,
more importantly, why didn’t you warn me about it?”

Johan laughs, but
not unkindly. “It’s like that for some, yes. Others are better sailors by
nature.

But most grow used
to the movement in time. Soon you will gain your sea-balance, believe me. Do
you think you can sit up now?”

“I really have no
idea, but I’ll try.”

May all your own journeys be happy ones, and don’t forget to enter the competition
to win a Kindle – details below!

Anne
Brooke’s fiction has been shortlisted for the Harry Bowling Novel Award, the
Royal Literary Fund Awards and the Asham Award for Women Writers. She has also
twice been the winner of the national DSJT Charitable Trust Open Poetry
Competition.

She is
the author of six published novels, including her fantasy series, The Gathandrian Trilogy, published by
Bluewood Publishing and featuring scribe and mind-reader Simon Hartstongue.
More information on the trilogy is available at: www.gathandria.com and the first of these
novels is The Gifting. In addition,
her short stories are regularly published by Riptide Publishing, Amber Allure
Press and Untreed Reads.

The
mind-dwellers of Gathandria are under deadly siege. For two year-cycles they
have suffered: their people decimated, their beautiful city in ruins. Their
once peaceful life has descended into chaos and misery. Legends tell of the
Lost One who will return at such a time to save them from their mortal enemy –
the mind-executioner. This enemy knows their ways well, for he was once an
elder of the city. Time is running out.

Johan and
Isabella take up the quest, journeying to the Lammas Lands searching for their
distant cousin and lowly scribe, Simon Hartstongue. The elders dare to hope
that he is whom they seek. Not everyone shares this hope; there is one amongst
them who is bound to the enemy, shielding their secret thoughts from mind links
while seeking to betray Simon.

Powerful
lessons are learned as they travel through the mystical kingdoms of the
Mountains, the Air, the Desert and the Waters. Deadly attacks threaten total
annihilation and devastating sorrow strikes. Story-telling weaves a tenuous net
of protection around them, but the enemy has absolute power with the stolen
mind-cane in his possession. To his surprise Simon hears its song. Desperately
he tries to understand and embrace his gifting, as he struggles to comprehend
his inheritance.

A strong and
pure mind is needed in the battle to defeat the enemy. If you are branded a
coward, a murderer and an outcast, how can you be a saviour? Doubt creeps into
the Gathandrians' minds. Is Simon truly the One?

Excerpt:

Clutching the
boy, Simon stumbled to Isabella and Johan. But they were no longer there. Not
on the mountain. Not anywhere.

He could not
comprehend what his eyes were telling him; the two of them were floating, solid
ghosts, on...nothing. The boy gulped and shook.

“Johan?”

Simon could
not voice the words, could not even focus them, merely fling them from his
thoughts. So close, and yet a thousand fears away, Johan tried to smile, but
Simon could see the spasm in his cheek. Feel it echoed in his own.

“What do I
do?”

The other
man’s body balanced between sky and the far-off earth, hemmed in only by air,
he stretched out his hand. “Come. I cannot touch you during this part of the
journey, Simon. The Air Kingdom forbids it. But we can give you the strength
you need. You can follow my hand. And Isabella’s. You can follow me.”

“I can’t,”
Simon said, staring at him as if for a moment they might be the only two people
alive. “It’s not possible, Johan. Don’t be stupid. I’m not strong, not like you
and Isabella.”

He found his
legs could no longer support his and the boy’s weight and, in spite of the
terror behind and the destruction to come, he collapsed onto bare rock, pain
ricocheting through his body. Shivering, he turned to his tormentor, hovering
on a plateau of air and incomprehensible faith.

“By the
gods,” the scribe begged him. “Don’t make me do it. Please.”

“Simon. You
don’t have time for this. I know you want to live.” Johan’s voice came somehow
not from where he stood, not even simply from within Simon’s mind, but echoed
throughout the whole of his body. “Please. Trust me. Don’t you trust me?”

“What do you
think?” he cried out. “No. I don’t. Not enough.”

“You don’t
know that. Come.”

“No, believe
me—I can’t.” From behind came a sudden tearing sound, like a knife ripping
silk. The mind-fire was dying.

“You can,” he
said.

In the
emptiness after his words, Simon lay face down on the ground, trembling, the
boy almost crushed under his chest. Impossible, it was impossible.

A roar and a
flash of redness and pain as the last protection collapsed. The stench of meat
and the dogs’ teeth came scrabbling through the flames. In his mind, the boy
screamed at last, in a way he could never do in the flesh. With a groan that
came from the gut and sliced through him, the scribe stumbled to his feet and
stood, swaying, he on rock and Johan on air. Although fully clothed, Simon was
as naked as he had ever been.

He caught and
held Johan’s ice-blue gaze. For a moment, somehow, time stopped and everything
became still.

“I am
afraid,” Simon told him, as simply and clearly as he could.

“I know.”

“I don’t
trust you.”

“Simon, I
understand. Take one step. Trust me for one step only. But you must leave the
mountain behind, or you will both suffer the death that is not true death.
Come.”

Wild roaring,
and then the pounding feet of the dogs.

Breath ragged
in his throat, Simon covered his face with his one free hand and smelled the
stale salt of his own tears. Then at the edge of thought, already infiltrating
his mind’s frail barrier, the executioner’s triumphant cry.

The scribe
turned. The enemy rose before him, a figure clothed in flame which did not
burn. Pain cauterised his mind and he screamed. A flash of black and silver at
the edge of his vision. He raised his hand to protect himself. The mind-cane
flew towards him: a dagger, a bearer of an impossible death. He screamed again.
Then everything fell silent. The cane brushed against his arm, the silver
carving impossibly cold. A flare of warmth encased him and then just as
suddenly vanished.

He should be
dead. He was not.

The mind-cane
lay at his feet, humming. Another scream, this time the enemy’s. With the
astonishment of being alive his only thought, Simon wrapped both arms around
the boy and stepped out with his right foot onto nothingness.

Giveaway
competition details: The giveaway competition: the prize is ONE
Kindle ereader worth £89 if these three questions about The Gifting are answered correctly:

1. In the beginning of Chapter Four, what
sound is Simon first aware of when he wakes up?

2. At the start of the Third Gathandrian
Interlude, who knocks Annyeke down in his desperation to reach her?

3. What happens to Simon at the end of
Chapter Six?

Answers should be sent to
albrookeATmeDOTcom (and NOT left on the post), and winners will be notified as
soon as possible after the tour ends.

There is also a Runner-Up Prize of THREE
eBooks from my backlist (not including The
Gifting) to one lucky commenter from the whole blog tour. Good luck!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Thank you for having me as your
guest blogger, “Enjoying the Unique Favors of Life.” I hope readers enjoy
learning a little more about my writing and me.

1. Tell us a little
about your writing style?

I’m unsure of how to answer this one. If you’re looking for how my
books are written, I don’t know as if I’ve established a style yet. I’d like to
think I have a humor mixed in with the seriousness of the story line and the
growth of the characters. Personally, I must have peace and quiet when I write.
Sometimes if I’m struggling with a scene, I may find music to help me along.
Toni Braxton helped write a few scenes of Florida
Heat.

2. Why this story and
not a different one?

This story came to me on a trip and when I started writing and
working on it, I dreamt about the story. It was on my mind all the time. I had
been writing another story but Florida
Heat hit the center of my writer’s heart, and the other story was put away.
I ate, slept and talked Florida Heat
24/7. I couldn’t let go of the story, knowing this book was meant to be told.
The road to getting this book published was a long and hard one. There were
many times I thought of walking away from writing altogether but couldn’t
because the story was beating that strong in my heart. Having other writers to
support you along the way, helps too.

3. What drew you to
these characters?

Maggie has had a tough road to recovery and
finding love. Her ex-husband is the cause behind the scar she sees every day
when she looks in the mirror. I wanted to write about how she moved on. In my
first drafts of Florida Heat she was
very bitter, angry, short tempered and not a likeable character. With rewrites,
she grew and I came to better understand her.

Trent—a cowboy originally from Colorado—owns a horse ranch in
Florida and races powerboats. Need I say more as to what drew me in? Seriously,
the offshore powerboat racing is what started the whole premise of Florida Heat. The rest of Trent’s
character grew from there. He was a weak character in the beginning, but like
Maggie, grew with rewrites. Many rewrites.

4. Tell us a little
about your next story idea?

Rescue Me is my current work in
progress. It takes place in Minnesota, north of the Twin Cities on neighboring
farms. Catherine is a veterinarian who has taken on rescuing horses, along with
other animals, and is in need of a new location for her horses. Contacting and
paying her Great Aunt a visit, she is granted the use of the barn on her Great
Aunts farm. When the Great Aunt dies, her Will leaves Catherine shocked and
with choices to make. Catherine won’t have to make the choices alone, when the
neighboring farmer and ex-boyfriend are involved. I’ve written a very rough
draft of Rescue Me and am excited to
polish the story for publisher submission.

5. At the end of the
day, what is your favorite thing to do to relax?

I unwind in several ways depending on
what’s going on around me. Television is always on at night in my house and I
have a few shows I’m huge fans of—Survivor, CSI, Big Brother and America’s Next
Top Model. I live for those and sometimes enjoy a glass of wine while watching.
I have three kids who are active and I find it relaxing to watch them
participate in their sporting events—soccer and swimming. Sometimes, once in
bed, I’ll pick up a book and read.

Please feel
free to ask any other question(s) you’d like. As a thank you for visiting me
today at Tina Gayle’s blog, I will be giving away a small gift of scented
items, which are tied to the story, to one lucky random person who leaves a
comment.

All commenter’s
from stops on my Goddess Fish tour will also be entered into an overall
commenter drawing. This gift includes a CD, again tied to the book, with
scented items.

If any
visitors today would like a bookmark, they can email info@jodyvitek.com with
their mailing information.

BLURB:

Scarred by her ordeal, Maggie Carlisle leaves her
ex-husband’s drug life back in Texas. A man from her past seeks revenge, just
as she meets and falls in love with Trent Randall.

Trent Randall, owner of a horse ranch and powerboat driver, loses focus
of his life when Maggie shows up. After an accident, he wonders if she's worth
the danger. However, his heart leads the way when he finds out she’s in
trouble.

First Kiss

Trent
strolled around the counter and closed in on her. Her stomach flipped. His
slate eyes had a hint of blue shining through.

Maggie
stepped back from his looming figure. He was too close. Her voice quavered.
“I’m alone because I want to be...and I’m okay with it.”

“Are
you afraid of me, Maggie?” He teased as he moved closer to her body.

“No,”
she squeaked and ran out of counter space.

“Why
do you avoid me?” He backed her up against the wall, his hands around her
waist, trapping her.

“I
don’t avoid you.” Not about to show her unease with his close proximity, she
mustered a firmer voice. “I’m putting a little space between us.” Quickly she
added, “At least I was trying to.” Her face felt warm, and a hot wave
swept through her belly.

“Why
do you need to put space between us? I’m male, you’re female, and we’re
attracted to one another.” He smiled suggestively.

“Speak
for yourself.” She strained to say it firmly, only to fail.

Her
knees weakened when her eyes made contact with his dark smoldering eyes. She
bit her lip and averted her eyes from his. “I think...” Her gaze went back to
him. “It’s late, and I need to get to work.”

“I
hope you’ll think again about coming to my party,” he whispered as he leaned close
into her ear.

Her
eyes closed, betraying her, at his slow and delicate delivery of his soft warm
lips on hers.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

I write contemporary romance novels. I prefer to start the
book with an amusing scene to lighten up the beginning. In Everlasting Love I
start out with the hero in a bathtub on the front porch of a cabin taking a
steaming hot bath while it is snowing.

Why this story and not a different one?

After I finished the second book in the Forest Ridge Series
I felt there was another firefighter who’s story needed to be told. Kevin
Mathews was a character referred to in the first book Rekindled Love and
appeared briefly in The Look of Love. I wanted to explore why he wasn’t
a firefighter and what caused him to be unhappy with his career choice of being
a police officer.

What drew you to these characters?

The image of the strong adventurous firefighters drew me to
these characters. These firefighters go into burning buildings in order to help
other people. The characters are family oriented and the fire department is an
extension of their family.

At the end of the day, what is your favorite thing to do
to relax?

I use the quiet time at the end of the day to work on the
story I’m writing. I take a notebook to bed with me and work on the current
scene. The best ideas come to me when I relax. If I’m not writing or need a
little relaxing time I read before going to sleep.

Everlasting Love

by Rosemary
Indra

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

When Miranda
Cummins borrows a friend’s cabin to finish writing her long overdue book, she’s
surprised to find the one-room retreat already occupied by Kevin Mathews.
Though she feels a spontaneous attraction for Kevin, Miranda has recently
escaped a controlling husband and isn’t ready for a long-term relationship.

Unsatisfied
with his occupation, Kevin is at a crossroads. Miranda understands and
encourages him to look at the direction his life is going. Fired up by her
encouragement, Kevin returns to Forest Ridge to resume his firefighting career.

When Miranda
is threatened by her ex-husband, Kevin realizes he will do anything to protect
her. Miranda has shown Kevin a new passion for life. Can he fan the flames of
passion into an Everlasting Love?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt

Driving Kevin’s truck reminded her of
learning to drive on her uncle’s farm. The old truck had more rust than paint
and rattled as she drove along the rutted dirt farm roads.

Kevin’s pickup ran a lot smoother and
looked newer than her family’s truck but like that pickup his didn’t have power
steering. She pulled on the wheel and turned the vehicle toward the freeway
ramp.

Picking up speed, she merged onto
highway 84 driving west. She drove the route for the last year and a half and
now she could drive it with her eyes closed. As usual traffic was heavy this
time of morning. Following an older model sedan moving slowly, she was forced
to press down on the brake pedal. Miranda pressed the pedal halfway down, on
the second pump the pedal dropped to the floor with no resistance. When she
realized how slow the car in front of her was traveling and how fast the truck
was going, she pressed on the brakes again. When the pickup didn’t react, she
quickly changed lanes barely missing the back bumper of the car.

Stay calm. Stay calm. Within a flash she tried to remember
all the driving tips everyone had ever given her. Slow down the engine.
She pushed down on the clutch and down shifted to a lower gear. The pickup
lurched forward, causing the seatbelt to pull tight across her chest. Her
bagged lunch and purse crashed to the floorboard. The engine revved really loud
as the vehicle started to slow down, as did the engine speed.

Again she pushed down the clutch and
shifted to a lower gear. This time the lurching was sharper than before. A
sharp pain shot through her neck. She wanted to rub the stabbing pain, but knew
she couldn’t take her hand off the wheel.

Moving the truck back to the slow
lane, Miranda down shifted until the truck slowed to a reasonable speed. She
prayed she could stop the truck with minimal damage to herself and Kevin’s
vehicle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Ever since
her mom gave her a romance book when she was a teenager Rosemary has enjoyed
happier-ever-after stores. She has been writing most of her adult life. When
she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading and
crafts.

She has two
grown children and four adorable grandchildren. Her and her husband live in a
small town in Oregon.

Rosemary will be awarding a signed cover flat to a commenter at every stop and a $20 Starbuck's GC and their name in her next book to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. One randomly drawn host will receive a $10 Starbuck's GC.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Sparks fly when
legendary actor Bradley Moore stumbles into witty, romantically minded flight
attendant Betty Hammond while boarding a flight. Neither expects the immediate,
incendiary attraction that flares between them, nor can they resist indulging in
some intimate contact while in the air.

But once back on
solid ground, reality comes calling. Betty is a flight attendant, Brad is a
major movie star. Despite the challenges, Brad finds himself drawn to Betty’s
wicked wit, her unflagging humor, and the fact that she’s completely unaffected
by his celebrity status. Betty can’t resist Brad’s down-to-earth side. And even
long after their midair encounter, they find themselves unable to deny an
intense mutual passion that reaches beyond the boundaries drawn by Hollywood’s
rules.

As their
relationship strengthens, Brad and Betty wonder if their mutual feelings are
enough to beat the odds and keep them together—or if they’ll ultimately get
burned under the glare of Hollywood’s spotlight.

My Review -

A cute story that kept me laughing. Betty is in for the ride of her life with movie star Brad while Brad is flying high with a hot flight attendant. Both have their issues but work to overcome them as they explore their mutual passion.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

The rewrite process can occur in many different ways. I know
authors who rewrite their story as they write the story. They spend a certain
amount of time every day rewriting before or after they have added pages to the
manuscript.

I’ve tried this method and found that it doesn’t work for
me. The right side and the left side of my brain don’t play well together. So I
do most of my edits after I have finished the whole manuscript.

The problem is that there is a lot to do at once and at times,
the task can be overwhelming. So I find it best to break it down into sections,
by scenes or chapters.

Checklist

1.Emotion
on every page. I go through and highlight the emotional words on the page:
sound, scent, taste, see, feel, texture, imagery.

2.Beginning
hook/ending hook of each scenes are they strong enough to keep the reader
reading.

3.Backstory
– too much--not enough.

4.Characterization
– is this character true to his personality or have I gotten off track.

5.Story
– did the story go where I wanted it too or has it meandered off course.

As you can see there are a number of things to consider. The
time invested in writing the story can only be improved with a strong rewrite
process. Take the time and discover that the story is even better than you
initially thought.